House Approves Defence Cooperation Bills with Turkey and Malaysia

Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) has agreed to discuss the Draft Law on Defence Cooperation Agreements between Indonesia with Turkey and Malaysia during the first-level discussion. Subsequently, both bills will be brought to the DPR plenary session.

Before the Chairman of Commission I, Utut Adianto, officially approved the motion, eight political party factions within the Commission for Defence, Cyber, and Foreign Affairs expressed their views on the two ratification bills. The majority agreed that the bills should proceed to the next stage of discussion.

“Hopefully, with this ratification approval, the programmes can run more smoothly based on the strength of the law,” said Utut during a meeting involving the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Law on Wednesday, 1 July 2026.

During the same session, Deputy Minister of Defence Donny Ermawan Taufanto, representing the government, stated that the approval of these defence cooperation ratifications is a vital part of fulfilling legal procedures required for the defence agreements between Indonesia, Ankara, and Kuala Lumpur to take effect.

He added that these defence cooperation agreements were drafted based on the principles of equality and mutual symbiosis among the three nations. He expressed hope that this legal umbrella would provide certainty in the implementation of various strategic defence programmes and international cooperation.

“Alhamdulillah, Commission I of the DPR has agreed to support this, and these ratification bills will be brought to the plenary session,” said Donny.

Commission I member Syamsu Rizal noted that while supporting the ratification of the defence bills, the DPR continues to provide critical observations to the government regarding this policy.

He stated that defence cooperation established through these ratification bills must not lead to an increased burden on the state’s fiscal position. The Ministry of Defence was requested to be cautious in determining procurement priorities.

Syamsu added that defence cooperation must not create conflicts with existing similar agreements, such as those involving the procurement of defence equipment (alutsista). “We must ensure that we do not purchase one system only to find another cannot be operated or connected because the platforms are incompatible,” said the PKB politician.